English 101
Section 30 MWF 10:00-10:50
Section 36 MWF 11:00-11:50
Paper #1
Fact and Fiction: Examining our World
A Brief Researched Report
http://briefcase.yahoo.com/english101erinlogan
This paper will be the first of six that you complete for the class. This paper will begin as a first draft that will undergo a peer review session in class. The class session after that, the paper will be due as a final draft. The paper should be typed in a formal 12-point font with 1’ inch margins. Please form your essay to be around 3-4 pages in length, plus a works cited page if needed. This will be due on Friday, September 12th.
Topic: Please choose one of the following topics as your focus.
1) As discussed in class, there are various controversies that swirl in and out of gossip, rumor, fact, fiction, and/or the media. These also might be called conspiracy theories. These are unproven and sometimes vague accusations, explanations, or narratives. As intelligent and educated people, it is up to us to decide what we believe, and what we do not believe and also, WHY we believe the things we do. This paper should report such facts as who, what, where, why, and how. Many of these things will require sources and research. Please cite these appropriately and also include your own opinion. However, be careful not to over-emphasize your own voice into the paper, as this will seriously pollute the rhetorical style and form of the essay. Follow traditional paragraphing techniques in addition to having an introduction and conclusion.
2) When entering into a new university and community, it might occur to you that the region has its own personality and history. Please delve into the university’s historical past or recent past and provide an exciting expose on an urban legend from SIU’s past. There are many of these such as; the burning of Old Main, the tunnels running under the campus, that a dog is buried under the football field, why Altgeld Hall looks like a castle, that the deceased Belushi brother attended SIU and that the “C O L L E G E “ shirt that is so famous now was made at Gusto’s graphics, or how the Varsity theatre was de-segregated by a famous basketball player, or that Faner Hall was built to be riot-proof and that the architect was crazy and committed suicide after he designed the building (this option may get you a better grade as my office is in Faner). There are many, many topics out there that you could find yourself. You are not limited to these. The stipulations are; that is has to be a true story, or a rebuttal of a rumor, and that you have to provide exact proof of your findings. Please follow the same advice about writing papers that I’ve included at the end of the first option; voice, form, style, etc.
3) The last option is to write another kind of expose in which you discover and report on the statistics, occasions, and/or history of accidents, violence, or crimes involving the use of alcohol and or drugs that occur in Carbondale. There are a few directions I can point you in such as; a young man getting hit by a train, a young man falling from the towers, a man getting murdered and how his friends lied to the cops to cover up that he was a drug dealer, sexual assaults, violent attacks on people, or you may even chronicle the history or rioting in Carbondale and investigate who, what, when, where, and how these occurred. Again, there are many topics that you can find out on your own. You are not limited to the ones I have mentioned. Please follow the same edicts about voice, form, and style.
You may wonder where to start with many of these topics. Here are a few options for research tools.
www.google.com
www.dailyegyptian.com
www.siu.edu
The City of Carbondale website or even the city library
Morris Library has an extensive collection of anything and everything.
www.thesouthernillinoisian.com
Please know that you do not have to conduct interviews or dig up the actual football field. Just provide one or two good sources for which you base your report. Of course, your opinion and voice can enter into the essay to provide explanation and comment, do not feel like you have to use quotes for every fact, just make sure you note where a statistic comes from so you can verify it is correct.
Also, if you want to stretch these topics to include a slightly more interesting light, feel free to ask me about them. As long as they fall within the general context of the essay, you can blend other issues without trouble.